PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (May 30, 2009) — Shortly after fighting a fatal blaze Wednesday, Waynesville firefighters spent much of the rest of the day racing to car crashes and smaller fires in underbrush around the county.

The first wreck happened at 10:14 a.m. on Highway 17 near Interstate 44 Exit 153, less than a mile away from the fatal fire. According to Missouri State Highway Patrol reports, Leslie Gillispie, 51, of Waynesville, was northbound in a 1993 Ford when she turned into the path of a southbound 2005 Chevrolet driven by Virgil Jefferies, 31, of Plato.

Gillispie suffered serious injuries and was transported to St. John’s Hospital in Lebanon by Pulaski County Ambulance District personnel, while Jefferies suffered moderate injuries and was transported by ambulance district personnel to General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital for treatment. Both had been wearing their seat belts, troopers reported.

Later in the day, emergency personnel responded to a crash involving a relative of Ambulance District deputy chief Mike McCart. According to state patrol reports, Dakota L. McCart, 16, of Waynesville, was pulling her 2007 Toyota pickup northbound out of a driveway on Highway W about 1.5 miles north of Highway 7 at 6:01 p.m. when she accelerated to avoid a collision with another vehicle, ran into the ditch, and continued for several more feet before striking a tree.

McCart, who had been wearing her seat belt, suffered only minor injuries and was transported by Pulaski County Ambulance District personnel to General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital for treatment. Her pickup was moderately damaged and removed by Jack’s Towing of Waynesville.

A rollover wreck at 5:30 p.m. on Highway 17 two miles north of Crocker totaled a 1996 Isuzu Rodeo and sent its driver to Lake Regional Medical Center in Lake Ozark with minor injuries.

Troopers reported that Emily J. Potter, 18, of Crocker, had been northbound when she ran off the right side of the roadway, overcorrected, skidded out of control and overturned on the east side of Highway 17. Troopers indicated they didn’t know whether Potter had been wearing her seat belt. Her vehicle was removed by Gene’s Towing of Crocker.

Also on Wednesday, a three-vehicle crash outside the county involving a Waynesville driver caused minor injuries.

According to state patrol reports, Bunny Campbell, 53, of Waynesville, was eastbound in a 2000 Ford Crown Victoria at 5:20 p.m. on Interstate 44 at the 193 mile marker in St. James when he lost control of her vehicle on wet pavement and struck the median cable barrier. His car was then struck by a 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier driven by Jonathan R. Walter, 26, of Foristell, followed by a 2003 Buick LeSabre driven by Stephen L. Fribley, 77, of Auburn, Ind. None of the three drivers were hurt, but the wife of the Buick driver, Sue B. Fribley, 81, of Auburn, suffered minor injuries and was transported by St. James Ambulance personnel to Phelps County Regional Medical Center for treatment.

All four people had been wearing their seat belts.

Walter’s Chevrolet Cavalier could still be driven from the scene, but Campbell’s Ford was totaled and Fribley’s Buick had moderate damage. Both were removed by C&C Towing of Rolla.